Canadian cannabis companies are whipping around Friday morning, tumbling as much as 15% before paring their losses, following a report suggesting workers may face a lifetime ban on travel to the US.

A Politico report published after markets closed on Thursday, citing a senior official overseeing US border operations, said any Canadian working in the marijuana industry would not be permitted to enter the US. “If you work for the industry, that is grounds for inadmissibility,” Todd Owen, the executive assistant commissioner for the US Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations, told Politico.

Canada’s marijuana industry has seen valuations balloon in recent months. Tilray, for example, has seen its share price skyrocket by more than 600% since it went public in July.

The huge growth in the industry has sparked the interest of institutional and retail investors alike and has led to investments from the competing alcoholic-beverage industry. Back in August, Constellation Brands, the company behind Corona beer and Svedka vodka, announced it was investing another $4 billion in Canopy Growth, which raised its stake to 38%.

The recent interest in the space has caught the attention of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Just last week, the SEC warned investors to watch out for promises of guaranteed returns, unregistered sellers, or unsolicited offers in marijuana names.

“If you are thinking about investing in a marijuana-related company, you should beware of the risks of investment fraud and market manipulation,” the SEC said.

“Fraudsters may try to use media coverage about the legalization of marijuana to promote an investment scam.”

NOVA SCOTIA CANADA: Once again it seems that you can’t grow Cannabis and treat licensed patients, even if Cannabis is “legal”.

At approximately 10:30am on September 5th, Rev. Daren McCormick and Rev. Kevin James were visited by the RCMP at which time they proceeded to search their property located in Loch Broom Nova Scotia Canada, where they were growing Cannabis for Patients. Rev. Kevin James explained to RCMP that they were licensed plants and who they belonged to. The RCMP produced no warrant yet they proceeded to search both outside and inside their home.

They were both incarcerated by the RCMP for growing, and trafficking Cannabis. They both remained incarcerated for 24 hours before being released. Rev. Kevin James was denied medication for seizures during the stay.

Over 1000 plants were taken by the RCMP as well as a small indoor grow. Personal items of the two men were taken in the search such as legal documents, witness lists and an antique Bow that hung above the fireplace belonging to Daren’s Grandfather, a family heirloom dating back to 1915 that yielded no threat to anyone.

The garden of Cannabis is estimated to be worth well over a million dollars plus and it has been destroyed. You can’t give back a plant that was pulled from the ground in its natural growing state!

Marijuana will be legal for recreational use in Canada on October 17, but despite legalization, Canadians who admit using cannabis could be banned permanently from entering the U.S.

“It’s basically black and white—if you admit to a U.S. border officer at a U.S. port of entry that you’ve smoked marijuana in the past, whether it’s in Canada or the U.S., you will be barred entry for life to the United States,”

Saunders said he believes U.S. border agents will begin asking the question more frequently once Canada’s new marijuana legislation is implemented later this year. However, Canadians also have the right not to answer the question, he said. Although the questioned individual may be denied entry to the U.S. after refusing to answer, it will only be for that day and not a permanent ban, Saunders explained.

Prior to Ottawa’s decision to legalize recreational cannabis last week, conservative Canadian lawmakers met with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. According to reports, Sessions warned the elected officials that Canadians could face problems at the U.S. border if legalization moved forward.

Despite the fact that nine states and the nation’s capital, Washington D.C., have legalized recreational marijuana—and 29 states have legalized it for medical purposes—cannabis remains completely illegal under U.S. federal law. While the administration of former President Barack Obama implemented guidelines against prosecuting marijuana businesses that were legal on the state level, Sessions has taken a tougher stance.

The Canadian government has warned citizens on its website that legal cannabis use could still cause problems when traveling abroad. “Cannabis is illegal in most countries,” the website said. “Previous use of cannabis, or any other substance prohibited by local law, could result in a traveler being denied entry to their destination country.”

Banned Canadians could still apply for temporary waivers to visit the U.S., according to Saunders. But their visa-free travel access would forever be revoked under current immigration laws.

Commenting on Canada’s decision to legalize marijuana, Hannah Hetzer, senior international policy manager at Drug Policy Alliance, told Newsweek it would be bizarre for the U.S. federal government to take a strong stand against the move.

“It would be very hypocritical for the U.S. federal government to come out staunchly against Canada’s legalization and be incredibly vocal about it,” Hetzer said, “because it puts the U.S. government in an uncomfortable position, where it’s still illegal on the federal level [but legal for recreation and medical use in many states].”

Beyond the legal disconnect in the U.S., the majority of Americans have tried marijuana at some point in their lives, according to polls. A 2017 poll by Marist and Yahoo News found that 52 percent of Americans over the age of 18 have used cannabis in the past. Additionally, 44 percent admitted that they continue to use the drug. Comparatively, statistics in Canada show that only 49.4 percent of men and 35.8 percent of women admit to having tried pot.

Just over 60 percent of Americans support legalized recreational marijuana, according to a January poll by Pew Research. Likewise, there is growing bipartisan political support for decriminalization and legalization.

Russia has come out strongly against Canada’s decision to legalize recreational marijuana, calling the move a “breach” of its “international legal obligations.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that a number of international conventions, to which Canada is a signatory, require privy nations to restrict the use of cannabis and other drugs to only medical and scientific purposes.

“We expect Canada’s partners in the G-7 to respond to its ‘high-handedness’ because this alliance has repeatedly declared its adherence to the domination of international law in relations between states,” the ministry said in an official statement.

Last week, Canada became the second nation in the world and the first member of the wealthy G-7 to pass legislation to legalize recreational marijuana. The U.S. neighbor plans to implement the new regulations on October 17. Uruguay was the first nation to legalize recreational marijuana, with legislation passed in 2013.

Canada has previously endorsed the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1971 Convention of Psychotropic Substances and the 1988 U.N. Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. The U.S. is also a prominent signatory of the conventions. Despite the legalization of recreational marijuana in nine states and the nation’s capital, the U.S. claims to be abiding by the conventions as cannabis remains completely illegal at the federal level.

Although President Barack Obama’s administration instructed federal law enforcement not to interfere in lawful marijuana businesses in states where it has been legalized, President Donald Trump’s attorney general, Jeff Sessions, has urged federal agents to do the opposite. Opposition to legal marijuana at the federal level has also caused tensions with national banks and lawful cannabis businesses in the U.S.

Top U.S. banks have refused to do business with Uruguayan banks that manage money from legal cannabis sales. U.S. banks have cited federal regulations against drug trafficking and money laundering. Sessions also reportedly warned Canadian lawmakers prior to Ottawa’s vote, saying that legalization could cause problems for Canadian citizens when entering the U.S.

Although it remains unclear whether banks will take a similar stance when it comes to Canada, Hannah Hetzer, senior international policy manager at Drug Policy Alliance, believes the U.S. neighbor’s prominence could shelter it from a similar fallout.

“It really remains to be seen if U.S. banks will do the same for Canadian banks,” Hetzer told Newsweek. “We might just see that U.S. banks decide to say nothing in this case,” she said but added that “it could create an obstacle” if banks decide to take a stance against Ottawa’s new policy.

Hetzer also argued that citing federal anti-trafficking and money laundering laws to block business surrounding legal marijuana is counterintuitive. She explained that legalization and regulation work precisely to combat and undermine the criminal market.

The U.S. Justice Department declined to comment when asked by Newsweek about how it would respond to Canada’s decision. The U.S. Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

When it comes to Russia’s condemnation, Hetzer said she believes this will add up to little more than critical statements. “Canada is aware that there will be international opposition from some countries,” as well as that its move could “violate international drug control treaties,” Hetzer said. “But like Uruguay, Canada has said they are [legalizing marijuana] for the health and safety of their citizens,” she pointed out, explaining that the preamble to the international drug control treaty says that the health and welfare of mankind must be taken into consideration.

With just over 60 percent of Americans supporting legalized recreational marijuana, according to a January poll by Pew Research, and growing bipartisan support for decriminalization and legalization, some have suggested that the U.S. could potentially move to legalize at the federal level as well.

“Having a huge legal market in a mature, democratic neighbor is going to be a very significant signal to some of the holdouts that we have currently,” Democratic Representative Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, who leads the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, told Mother Jones prior to Ottawa’s decision. “It’s another step—not toward just legalization but also normalizing it.”

Canada is the second country in the world to legalize marijuana, paving the way for recreational sales throughout the country.

Canada’s Upper House of Parliament on Tuesday evening approved the revised bill 52-29, making Canada the first G7 country to legalize marijuana. Uruguay did so in 2013.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday that legalization would officially take effect on October 17, citing provincial requests for more time to develop retail infrastructure.

“It’s been too easy for our kids to get marijuana — and for criminals to reap the profits,” Trudeau said in a tweet on Tuesday evening. “Today, we change that. Our plan to legalize & regulate marijuana just passed the Senate.”

Bill C-45, known as the Cannabis Act, legalizes marijuana but leaves it up to each province to decide how to sell it. Some provinces, like Ontario, are planning on provincially run outlets, while others, like Alberta, will open up marijuana retail to the private sector.

The federal government set a minimum age of 18 to purchase marijuana, though some provinces have indicated they will raise the age to 19, mirroring liquor-purchase laws. The bill makes the distribution and sale of marijuana to minors an offense.

The bill was part of a promise that Trudeau’s Liberal Party made during the 2015 campaign to keep marijuana out of young people’s hands and move the illicit market into a regulated framework.

“I’m feeling just great,” Sen. Tony Dean, who sponsored the bill in Canada’s Senate, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. “We’ve just witnessed a historic vote for Canada. The end of 90 years of prohibition. Transformative social policy, I think. A brave move on the part of the government.”

“Canada should be applauded for taking bold and decisive steps towards ending the failed prohibition of marijuana,” Hannah Hetzer, the senior international policy manager for the Drug Policy Alliance, said in a statement. “Canada’s progress will galvanize support for drug policy reforms in the US and all around the world.”

Erik Altieri, the executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, echoed Hetzer’s sentiment.

“We applaud Canada for showing federal legislators in the United States what can be accomplished with true leadership and dedication to sound public policy,” Altieri said in a statement.

Golden Leaf Holdings, a cannabis company listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange, was the biggest gainer, with the stock surging 6.8%.

Legalized marijuana is expected to be a boon for Canada’s economy. The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, one of the country’s largest banks, predicts that Canada’s legal marijuana market will be a $6.5 billion industry by 2020.

Several Canadian marijuana firms, including Aurora Cannabis and Canopy Growth Corporation, are seeing a wave of investor excitement around marijuana legalization. Marijuana companies have been capitalizing on that liquidity to go on acquisition sprees.

Free Man On The Land Daren Wayne of the Family McCormick, son of a Canadian Military Man, is originally from Northport, Nova Scotia. He has traveled all across Canada and Europe and it was in his travels that he met the infamous Mr. Rick Simpson.

He was introduced to Rick Simpson and saw what he had accomplished with Cannabis oil and he began growing “for the cause”, to help seriously ill people, at virtually no charge. After Rick Simpson was raided and left Canada, Daren continued on.

I will ask you to please watch the video’s as they absolutely explain the situation at hand and why everyone should rally and support Daren in his unjust predicament. He is absolutely being targeted for giving away free Cannabis oil to seriously ill people.

The next video gives some information about the preliminary trial in Daren’s last arrest which took place on April 3rd.

Below: April 3rd, after the Preliminary Trial

Daren has a very dedicated entourage of followers who believe in his cause and know of the injustice that has been inflicted upon him and they steadfastly remain by his side to support him.

Introducing the Cumberland Colchester Marijuana Party of Nova Scotia.Pursuant to s448 (2)c; s449 of the Canada Elections Act, and s.127 (3.2) of the Income Tax Act;[…is an electoral district association of the marijuana party & its AGENTS, ARE AUTHORIZED TO ISSUE OFFICIAL RECEIPTS…]Corporate Structure, Formalization & Bylaws to be released shortly….Meet the Rev Bros… REvenue Agents…☆ stay tuned…

The cops and politicians joining Canada’s cannabis business

As Canada moves towards legalising recreational cannabis, there’s a surprising group of entrepreneurs jumping into the market: cops and politicians.

In 2015, former Toronto police chief Julian Fantino was “completely opposed” to marijuana legalisation and supported mandatory jail time for minor cannabis offences.

Mr Fantino, who was also a Cabinet minister in the former Conservative government, criticised the now governing-Liberals’ plan to legalise the drug, saying it would make smoking marijuana “a normal, everyday activity for Canadians”.

In November, along with former RCMP deputy commissioner Raf Souccar, he opened Aleafia, a “health network” that helps patients access medical cannabis.

Mr Fantino is arguably among the more controversial entrepreneurs to join the “green rush”.

But a number of high-profile former police officers and politicians have jumped into the industry in recent years, including Mr Fantino’s Aleafia colleague and fellow ex-MP Gary Goodyear, former Ontario premier Ernie Eves and former deputy Toronto police chief Kim Derry.

Medical cannabis has been legal in Canada since 2001.

The industry got a boost in 2013 when federal government regulations shifted to allow licensed commercial producers to grow, package and distribute medicinal cannabis to patients.

Registered patients have also skyrocketed from 24,000 in June 2015 to more than 200,000 in June 2017.

Many of companies supplying that market have plans to expand into the recreational product when the product is legal next summer.

In December, the federal statistics agency estimated Canadians consumed an estimated C$5bn ($3.8bn; £2.9bn) to C$6.2bn worth of marijuana in 2015. Canadians spend about C$7bn a year on wine.

Derek Ogden spent more than 25 years with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, including as head of the force’s drug squad.

He understands the frustration of activist watching the people they battled for decades now entering the industry.

“There’s absolutely no way Canada would be in this position right now as far as taking steps to legalise had it not been for the work that the activists did,” he says.

But Mr Ogden, who now runs National Access Cannabis, a consultancy that helps patients access medical marijuana, says it’s no surprise that ex-cops are in demand.

Licensed producers are hungry for people with security experience who can get clearances and who understand Canadian drug laws.

“One of the ideal groups of candidates to slide into those positions were former law enforcement personnel,” he says.

Mr Ogden himself got into the business around 2014, when Canadian and American producers hired him to consult on security protocols.

His nascent consulting company was “overwhelmed” by the demand.

Mr Ogden no longer believes that people who use medicinal cannabis are simply doing so “to avoid the legal implications” of using the drug recreationally.

He had an “aha moment” after meeting a respected physician who relied on cannabis during a bout with cancer. Mr Ogden now uses it himself for a chronic health issue.

He concedes changing his mind on its recreational use was “a tougher one”.

Former British Columbia municipal politician Barinder Rasode “grew up thinking [pot] was a gateway drug that ruined people’s lives”.

Now she’s president of the new National Institute for Cannabis Health and Education, which researches cannabis production and its use in Canada.

Marijuana activists have done “an amazing job” at highlighting problems with prohibition but with legalisation on the horizon, “having many voices at the table is really, really important”, she says.

“I don’t think the fact that somebody at some point had a different opinion about cannabis should exclude them,” she adds.

“I actually think their voices are extremely valuable.”

Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug in Canada. Almost 60% of drug offences in the country in 2016 were cannabis-related.

Mr Larsen says he doesn’t “want to put narcs in jail”. But he believes police and politicians who supported prohibition and are now entering the cannabis business should admit they were wrong.

“I want people who were victimised by cannabis prohibition – who went to jail, who had their families torn apart, who lost their children, who couldn’t access medical cannabis – I want their voices to be heard,” he said.

He has and is being detained in an Amherst facility, most likely illegally, as no signed search warrant was produced before his arrest.

The following is the information which I have been able to collect about the ongoing situation. There will be updates as they are available and I urge you to visit the included links for more in-depth information.

His garden was destroyed.

But he is NOT!

“…they were antique guns…”

There are many people on both sides of the border that are watching the developments here. The East Canada Friends Group was created on Facebook to let people follow the information forthcoming and show their support.

I have spoken with Donna Thibodeau and Kevin James by messaging. They are both following this case closely and will forward updates as needed.

Donna Thibodeau is a avid follower and patient of Daren as well. She is doing all she can to help the situation. This morning she sent this message to me concerning his last appearance in Court:

“I almost put charges on the first prosecutor, if they didn’t remove him. They changed prosecutors for the afternoon. I told them that he made me feel creepy and uncomfortable. Daren has a pending case on both of them. The head drug unit was also in the room and is also on Daren’s list…”

These were the last words that I heard from Daren McCormick before I found out that he had been arrested and his Cannabis garden destroyed on August 23rd.

Daren McCormick was growing medicine to try to help save people from Cancer in Nova Scotia, Canada. He had been successful quite a few times and has patients that will testify to the fact to prove it.

He was a member of Phoenix Tears, a Rick Simpson group out of Nova Scotia Canada.

He was/is a grower. A grower who believes in the healing power of Cannabis and has spent his adult life fighting for this cause and being persecuted for it. Yet he does not give up.

Right now, as he sits in a Amherst, Nova Scotia jail awaiting Court with no bond set as of yet, his followers are watching fervently to see what is going to happen next.

Federally, Cannabis is a legal commodity in Canada IF you are a patient – which the plants that Daren was growing was definitely for patients!

“He was going to people with hemp oil, not charging anybody for nothing, and saving people’s lives,” Albert Dwyer said.

Dwyer said he suffered from colon cancer and used marijuana oil in place of radiation and chemotherapy with positive results. According to Dwyer, McCormick’s arrest was keeping medicine from those who need it.

The following is a summary of the case that Daren McCormick has filed against Justice Moir for his previous 3 1/2 imprisonment :

EAST-Canada friends The following is a summary of the negligence of Justice Moir of the Supreme Court in Nova Scotia, Canada. Full copies of the direct examination can be found on the website at the bottom. Specific pages that support the allegations are listed by allegation number, volume and page at the end.Mr. Moir had an unusual case before him involving a person in Canada who had a different belief system. Mr. Moir, while he sat on the bench and made decisions involving this self-represented individual (SRI), was willfully or negligently blind to his responsibilities.During the trial, Mr. Moir observed several problems, and his response to each calls into question his capacity to fulfill his office.1. Disclosure was given up to the final moments before trial. Furthermore, the SRI had limited ability to read the disclosure. Finally, the SRI had not finished reviewing the disclosure. Mr. Moir responded to these issues by ignoring them, and continuing with the trial.2. The SRI attempted to introduce a defence of Officially Induced Error, but did not have the background in law to distinguish Officially Induced Error from Entrapment. Mr. Moir responded to this by helping support this mistake, and by explaining that entrapment was a process taken upon appeal. Further, he made several claims that if he saw an error, he would stop the proceedings himself.3. Mr. Moir reviewed case law on the SRI and his group prior to hearing from the SRI at trial, and Mr. Moir claimed to have decided on several issues he suspected he would hear. (Due to issues, the PDF containing the main support for this may not be uploaded.)4. The SRI brings to Mr. Moir’s attention on several occasions that the arrest was made without a warrant, and the police arrested the SRI with drawn firearms. Mr. Moir ignored these repeated remarks, and neither addressed them in open court properly or in a voir dire (a different sort of court hearing).The evidence on arrest, if excluded, would have negated the evidence in several charges. Based on the case law and facts of the warrantless arrest, there appeared to be a good chance of success in challenging the arrest and evidence taken at the arrest if Mr. Moir had acknowledged the existence of the issue.From the time the police claim to have made the decision to arrest the SRI, they applied for and were given a search warrant for the SRI’s father’s home. The claim that the decision was made to arrest the SRI is contradicted by police documents. This begs the question of why they did not also apply for an arrest warrant. Furthermore, based on the behavior of the SRI immediately prior to arrest, there did not appear to be any reason to arrest the SRI.5. The SRI, when asked if he was prepared to stand trial, stated that he was not ready. This was due to an inability to review disclosure sufficiently and due to new disclosure being received ten minutes before the trial. Mr. Moir proceeded with the trial regardless.6. During jury selection, Mr. Moir challenged a juror on behalf of the SRI, and without consent from the SRI.

This is the story of a man who gave away Cannabis Oil (later to be known as RSO or Phoenix Tears). Daren was charged and was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison the day after this video was made. Daren is out of prison now, and despite having done hard time, is back in full production and continuing to grow cannabis and help those in need. CLICK ON PICTURE BELOW!

• Eight counts of possession of a firearm knowing possession is unauthorized

• Two counts of possession of a firearm while prohibited.

Daren has never been charged with a violent crime with a firearm to my knowledge.

In other words, there was no need to charge him with firearms violation except for the fact that they weren’t legal for him to have in possession. HOWEVER, as a person who lives in the country around a bunch of farmers, I KNOW that it is NECESSARY that anyone who is growing any kind of crops whether it be corn, potato’s, hemp or cannabis – needs to have access to a firearm! So in my opinion those charges are bogus – he is not a violent person and should not be treated as such!

No one should lose their right to possess a firearm because of a violation of the law unless it is a violent offense.

Please take the time to read about what is going on in Canada. The “legalities” of legalization are overwhelming. At any time you can become a target for arrest. For growing a plant! The same thing is happening here. The only chance we have to be a free people is to insist upon REPEAL of the regulations and Statutes that have been enacted – just to enslave us.

With that, I will leave you with this famous quote:

Kissinger: “Control oil and you control nations; control food and you control the people.” US strategy deliberately destroyed family farming in the US and abroad and led to 95% of all grain reserves in the world being under the control of six multinational agribusiness corporations LINK

There are a number of informative links that I have included for your convenience. It’s a long story…

Phoenix Rising Series: Webisode, 1 (The Story of Rick Simpson and RSO) A film by Chris Harrigan LINK

That’s right you can buy the oil at the dispensaries made famous by Daren and the other Phoenix Tears members for about $70 a gram, but try giving it away for free…watch the video. Also for more on Daren you can follow this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4br_6…

The letters immediately sent officials in Uruguay scrambling to make sense of the Patriot Act and other American laws that could doom an essential part of their country’s new marijuana market.

American banks, including Bank of America, said that they would stop doing business with banks in Uruguay that provide services for those state-controlled sales.

Afraid of losing access to the American banking system, Uruguayan banks warned some of the pharmacies over the last couple of weeks that their accounts would be shut down, potentially signaling a broader international impasse as other countries, including Canada, set out to legalize marijuana.

“We can’t hold out false hope,” President Tabaré Vázquez of Uruguay told reporters this week, adding that his administration was trying to come up with a solution.

The snag mirrors challenges that such businesses have faced in American states that have legalized medical and recreational cannabis. Under the Patriot Act, which was passed weeks after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, it is unlawful for American financial institutions to do business with dealers of certain controlled substances, including marijuana. The provisions were designed to curb money laundering and drug trafficking.

American banks, including Bank of America, said they would stop doing business with banks in Uruguay that provide services for the country’s state-controlled marijuana sales. Credit Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The Obama administration indicated in 2014 that banks were unlikely to face penalties for offering services to marijuana businesses in states where the trade is legal, as long they screened accounts for signs of money laundering and ensured that customers followed state guidelines. This enabled some of the businesses to get accounts at credit unions, but major banks have largely stayed away from the expanding industry, concluding that the burdens and risks of doing business with marijuana sellers were not worth the hassle.

“Banks are businesses, and they can pick and choose who they do business with,” said Frank Robison, a lawyer in Colorado who specializes in marijuana regulation. “From a banking industry perspective, the marijuana industry might be perceived as a flea on a dog’s back.”

But finding a workaround in Uruguay may be hard. Sales of marijuana represent a small share of business for pharmacies, which are currently the only merchants licensed to sell it, and the pharmacies say they need banking services to operate.

Similarly, bankers in Uruguay will probably find it much more important to remain in good standing with American financial institutions than to preserve the accounts of a small number of pharmacies.

The threat of losing their bank accounts has led some of the roughly 15 pharmacies that initially signed up to participate in the new market to give up on marijuana sales, said Pablo Durán, a legal expert at the Center of Pharmacies in Uruguay, a trade group. Twenty other pharmacies that were expected to join the market are holding off while the government explores solutions, he said.

The American regulations are counterproductive, supporters of the legal market in Uruguay contend, because they may inadvertently encourage, not prevent, illicit drug sales.

Fighting drug trafficking was one of the main reasons the Uruguayan government gave for legalizing recreational marijuana. Officials spent years developing a complex regulatory framework that permits people to grow a limited supply of cannabis themselves or buy it at pharmacies for less than the black market rate. Lawmakers hoped that legal structure would undercut illicit marijuana cultivation and sales.

“There probably isn’t a trade in Uruguay today that is more controlled than cannabis sale,” Mr. Durán said.

As a candidate, President Trump said that American states should be free to chart their own courses on marijuana, and he promised to pare back regulation in the financial sector. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, however, has been a sharp critic of legalization and has compared marijuana to heroin.

Now, some members of the cannabis industry wonder whether the United States government will resolve the conflict between its banking laws and the expanding patchwork of measures to legalize recreational and medical marijuana use around the world. The guidance from the Obama administration, issued by the Justice and Treasury Departments in a pair of memos in 2014, addressed the matter domestically but not for international banking.

“Uruguay may be the tip of the iceberg,” said Mr. Robison, the Colorado lawyer who specializes in marijuana regulation.

Pharmacists in Uruguay were incredulous to learn that their bank accounts could be shut down, considering the years of study and planning that preceded the start of retail marijuana sales last month. The country’s marijuana law was passed in 2013.

“We can’t understand how the government didn’t have the foresight to anticipate this,” said Gabriel Bachini, a pharmacy owner in the coastal city of Colonia.

Buying marijuana in a pharmacy in Montevideo. Credit Andres Stapff/Reuters

Since sales began, the number of registered buyers in Uruguay has more than doubled. As of Aug. 15, more than 12,500 people had enrolled in a system that verifies customers’ identities with fingerprint scanners and allows them to buy up to 40 grams per month (at a price of about $13 for 10 grams, enough for about 15 joints, advocates say). Under the law, only Uruguayan citizens and legal permanent residents are allowed to buy or grow marijuana.

“Demand has been very strong,” Mr. Bachini said. “People are thrilled that they no longer have to go to private homes or venture out into neighborhoods” to get marijuana.

In emailed statements, the Treasury and Justice Departments said that their earlier guidance was still being applied. But banking and legal experts say the Trump administration has yet to lay down clear markers on this area of policy.

Officials in Uruguay are hopeful that American lawmakers will pass legislation allowing banks to do business with marijuana sellers in states and countries where it is regulated. Representative Ed Perlmutter, Democrat of Colorado, introduced a bill in April that would do that, but marijuana advocates say they do not expect a prompt legislative change.

“It is ironic that laws aimed at fighting drug trafficking and money laundering have created a roadblock for a system that intends to do just that,” said Hannah Hetzer, an analyst at the Drug Policy Alliance, which supports decriminalization of marijuana. “Uruguay is creating a legal market that displaces the illicit marijuana market.”

Mr. Bachini, the pharmacist, said he had not yet heard from his bank. But if it threatens to shut down his account, he said, he will not think twice about giving up marijuana sales.

“This pharmacy has been around for 30 years,” he said. “I’d just stop until this issue with the United States is resolved.”

Correction: August 26, 2017

An earlier version of this article misidentified the state that Ed Perlmutter represents in the House. It is Colorado, not Oregon.

Mauricio Rabuffetti contributed reporting.

A version of this article appears in print on August 26, 2017, on Page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: Uruguay’s Legal Pot Is Imperiled by U.S. Banks. Order Reprints| Today’s Paper|Subscribe

Pages

“The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater.” -- Frank Zappa